2019/2020 Trapping thread

The time is right to start setting some more steel. I had a few minutes before I had to pick up the kids yesterday, and was able to put out 2 sets. Had a cool looking one bouncing for me this morning. I had seen it chasing calves on Tuesday, but couldn’t get a shot. I had killed a littermate I assume back in the summer too. Hope to put in a few more sets today and tomorrow.

Marlin model 25, 22 WMR, Boyds stock??

Model 17 .17hmr, with a factory laminate stock

That'll work....apparently.

Glad you started a thread for this year. Always one of my favorites to follow! that was about as pretty a coyote as you will see.

Glad to see you knocking them out already!

Thanks, I skinned the dang thing and will tan it this spring.

Very unusual coloration. About half of the ones I'm seeing and getting pictures of are eat up with the mange. I hope they were miserable during are recent cold snap. Keep it up!

#killem'all

Nice catch, your lab has a serious look going on.

Glad to see this thread start up. Post em up boys!

Big boar coon this morning. Couple other sets had some activity but didn’t connect.

She wasn’t sure about that coyote being in her gator lol.

Almost 17# on that big coon.

AU coonhunter, that looks like the Ferrari F50 of catch poles you got there!

Empty sets this morning. That is a catch/dispatch pole made by a guy named Lee Steinmeyer in Kansas.

I've seen those poles on trapperman. You using it for dispatch and if so does it work well for that? I used to catch a lot of coons in the city and it would be good for that if it works well.

Added a couple this morning

It works great. Coons I just loop them and tighten it down, but with coyotes, foxes and cats I will nose tap them first to stun them. They are usually knocked out within 30 seconds, and I will leave them tightened down for a few more minutes while I remake the set. It works great for places where shooting is iffy, plus Lee is a great guy to talk too and do business with.

Good to know.

Looks really well made, but looks like the ratchet grips are backwards.

I would guess he uses a standard ratchet mechanism and it has to be mounted backwards to pull in since a standard caulk gun pushes out to the the front.

That is correct charlie. I have one of his fleshing knives too, he is really good at working with stainless steel.

Well the whole litter must have been weird colored. Only had him by 2 toes so I didn’t get a catch pic.

Do you post on Trapperman ?

K bush are you trapping on the old Boykin WMA? The background of the pics look familiar although I haven’t been there in years.

I do not k bush.

Nope but I'm close to the Stimpson SOA

Nice job!👏👍

After a slow week, connected last night on a bait stick with a food lure.

First month ever trapping and the only thing I've trapped are possums. I've got 3 yotes that are running an old logging road every week behind my house and one looks like a German Shepard, he is huge. I'm really wanting to catch him and his 2 running buddies on that old road as its easy to check traps in the morning before work. Probably gonna transition to the fields in front of my house and down the road at our family farm if in the next few weeks regardless if I get the ones behind my house in the mountain. Pretty fun checking them, on son loves to check them with me on the weekends.

Probably over Christmas I am going to take my traps up to the hunting club and run them while folks are up there every day, I heard 3 different packs of yotes last Saturday after my son shot his buck. The river bottoms are flat over run with them.

Be patient, attention to detail is important. What type sets are you using ? &

Running Duke #2 foothold traps (I know they aren't the best), using wolf fang earth anchors. I have some type of bait I bought at cabelas, think the brand in Caven's Minnesota Brand bait. I killed one of the possums I caught this week and am now using it as bait.

I try to be OCD about my scent and how I set everything up. Typically get my trap set up in a dug out hole, toss some peat moss on and around it and sift dirt on top of that, use my rebar to dig a fairly deep hole about 6" about trap and put some bait in it and then try to make it all look as natural as possible. I've sprayed some coyote pee around the bait hole but not sure if that is something I want to do as I think it may keep other critters away.

Its been fun trying to learn the ins and outs of it, figured out I needed to adjust my spring tension when I found one of my traps dug up and still not set off ha ha. Fairly sure it was a possum or raccoon that dug it up.

I am a pure rookie at this but I've been watching a bunch of youtube videos and learning more of what I need to do. If I don't get the yotes behind my house soon I will probably rotate my traps to the fields as I know they run the creeks and fence lines a lot and its the same pack that's running the mountain behind my house.

I'm not OCD on scent but I do wear leather gloves to set and separate gloves for bait. I would use a kneeling pad or ground cloth for setting. Cavens makes good bait and lures. I also use Down South Trappers products and they are here in Alabama.

Try putting in a compass set. It's best to put it on sign, where they are trotting a road or trail. Find a.clump of grass for backing and punch a hole with your rebar. Bed your trap 7-8" back then punch in 3 more holes the same distance from the trap on the compass points. Add bait or urine to each hole. I'd put your Cavens in the hole at the base of the grass and the urine in the hole closest to the line of travel. Add a and or curiosity lure in the other holes. The goal is to get the coyote moving his feet as he checks out the scent.

Sometimes I only use 3 holes with an open approach over the trap.

Thanks, I will give that a try this week since I'm sure i'll have to re-set my traps after the rain.

I probably go 70/30% on dirt hole to compass sets for the initial set. After a remake I almost always make a compass set though. The area is full of scent and usually the backing for the dirt hole is destroyed, and I have had a lot of success that way. Another thing to note is if you find lots of sign or have pics of multiples coming through, don’t be afraid to make 2 or 3 sets close to each other.

I reset 2 today after all the rain from the weekend. It is getting about time for a cat to walk through.

Demp,

Did you boil/clean up your new traps? Got to get those suckers cleaned before the first set. Check out a video on how to night latch a trap too. Best thing I learned from North 40's class a few years back. Trapped way back when you could actually make money at it and never did know about night latching. Once you catch a coyote you will be hooked (no pun intended) too. A little scent goes a long way on trapping. You don't need as much as you think. You just want to get their attention, not spook the heck out of them.

I'm hoping to make some sets in a couple of weeks.

Demp try running your pans at 9 and 2! 9"s back from your hole and offset 2"s right or left. If you're using a larger/ taller backing then back your trap up even more.

Make sure your traps are bedded solid! ROCK SOLID! Any movement at all will cause critters to dig.

Make sure your pan is level and there's no creep in it before it fires when set. You can do this 2 ways with the Duke traps. You can night latch them or simply bend the frame the dogs attached to up or down. Either way you want your pan sitting level and firing with less than 1/16" of movement. You can also wrap wire around the frame where the pan connects to take some of the pan wobble out of Duke traps.

Coyote urine will not deter other predators from working your sets. I use either coyote, fox or bobcat urine on every set. All it takes is a few drops on your backing.

Bait and lure go a long way as Wade said. Commercial baits use a butterbean sized glob on a piece of sheepswool down your hole. If you're using commercial lures dip a q tip in the lure and you're done. I normally use either a bait and lure combo or 2 lures at each set.

Learn all different types of sets, I've seen dirt holes, compass sets and flat sets mentioned here but learn to make more. Walkthrough sets are deadly, stepdown sets are perfect for fields where coyotes or other critters have already been digging. Don't get hung up on any one set.

You'll develop your own style of making sets and it'll all fall into place.

I watched a video yesterday on night latch and am gonna try to fix that up this weekend when I get some time. I've been making sure my sets are rock solid, every video I've seen thats what everyone talks about first so that's what I've been trying to do. I've been making my bait holes about 6" back and slightly offset but sounds like I may need to A. move it back further and B. look at adding an additional couple of holes. Been using coyote pee and Cavens at every set. I'll get some more lure and bait in the next few weeks. Ill watch some YouTube videos on those sets to see works best for me... Thanks for all the advice, I wake up about 20 minutes earlier than I normally do to go check traps, kinda like checking game cams in Illinois, can't wait to catch that first yote.

You can also buy the Paws I Trip pans and SS rod style dogs like the MB550 and put on them. That's an option if your night latch attempts don't work as planned.

Another big Tom. Remake of the bait stick/food lure from Sunday

Nice, cats are my absolute favorite to catch.

Man, y’all are getting me excited about setting some traps for the first time. Santa has already sent them and they are packaged under the tree.

Wife took this pic of yesterday's cat. If you didn't know to look for it you would drive right but it.

Finally! First coyote!! I moved one of my traps down to our family farm and put it where the tractors cut through a tree line to get to the adjacent field. I used the recommended compass set and caught this big female the first night. Asked my brother if he could check my trap from his house with the binos this morning and he said sure enough I had one. He videod it jumping, growling and trying its best to get loose before he unloaded his pistol on it ha ha... i drove down there to check it out, noticed it didn't leave any blood but left a really strong odor so I went ahead and reset the trap in hopes another one roams thru tonight before the rain.

Congrats bud, now go catch another one

Awesome Shane. Killem all. I need start/learn to trap them myself.

Congratulations.

Congrats on the catch demp! It's all downhill from here. Lol!

Thanks again for y'all input, hopefully I can catch a few more this winter. Can't go deer hunting now without thinking to myself that'd be a perfect spot for to trap a yote.

Gad another big boar coon in a compass set this morning.

Finally, my first coyote for Thanksgiving!

Congrats! You'll remember that one from now on.

Congratulations to both of you on the first coyote catches. The pressure is off now so you can have lots of fun. Good job.

Thanks....
So far I’ve caught a possum, a poodle and a coyote...not on top yet but climbing 😂
I’ve got to get the bedding process down better, having a time getting them tight.

Got this one last night. They tripped it twice before. Third was a charm. Young female. Also got an opossum, and buzzard.

Another yote for me last night.

What brand trap is that?

No BS k-9 extreme

Almost broke the 40 lb mark

What trap are you using ? If they make a trappers cap to fit it give it a try.It let's you really pack inside the jaws without getting pinched. Not for high production trapping but will help you get better at it.

I bought one for 550's after I had a coon digging everything up in a sandy spot this summer. Don't use it all of the time but have it when needed

Big one k bush. I caught a big male a couple years ago that was 43#. Takes a big one to break the 40# mark.

Yep. Previous best was 36.5 #. Still looking for 40 !

That's a big one K bush! Congrats!

37lbs I believe is my heaviest. It takes a really, really big coyote to go 40+.

I hear folks talking about how big coyotes are all the time and 99% of the time there's nothing to do but smile and nod. I figured coyotes up North and out West would be much larger but read a thread on trapperman several years ago with a bunch of high volume coyote trappers and 30lbs is pretty much nation wide average for coyotes.

A couple that we caught over Thanksgiving week.


Pic of my trapping helpers with this one. Actually, my son on the left is the main trapper, and we are his helpers.




Jeremy

I’m using the #2 Bridger dogless.
I need to order a few things so I’ll check on a trappers cap too.
Thanks!

Don't think they make one for Bridger dogless. I tried some single gang switch boxes but couldn't find one bug enough

Got another one at the bait stick location. That makes 3 coyotes and a bobcat in that trap. It's now a flat set with a transplanted clump of grass instead of a bait stick. They've chewed up two bait sticks LOL

Figured I'd show the remake. Transplanted a clump of grass for backing and punched 3 holes.

Awesome pics guys. Keep em coming

I lost the thread. One of my favorites every year. Can u pin it to the top?

TTT

4 coons and coyote in 4 days of trapping so far

1 coon this morning and had hog root up one of my MB’s

2 coyotes this morning

1 coyote 1 coon this morning

Good job. I hope to work on some coon, coyote and hogs when season goes out. Got a few beaver to catch until then

1 coyote this morning
Nasty morning glad I didn’t have much to do

2 coyotes this morning

Man you’re on em! Just set 3 traps right by the house. Had a chicken massacre the other day. They finally got brave.
Kind of wondering if a local dog killed the chicken though. Ate it right there by the coop. I figured most wild animals would haul it off before devouring. Either way I have seen fox and yotes on camera so I’d like to take them out!

I've heard 4 different groups howling in the late evening and am concentrating my efforts in those areas
I'll go through the first week of march and give it and myself a break til turkey season is over

Put out some coon traps.
5 today.






Didn't remember to get a copy of the last one.

God Bless,
David B.

1 coon this morning

2 coons and 1 opossum.






Had to pull all my traps today.

May be able to set some out next Monday.

God Bless,
David B.

Got 2 coyotes this morning

Put out 2 traps few days ago nothing till today on the 3rd of having them out caught my first cook

21 traps put out for coons in 7 areas today.

Look forward to tomorrow morning.

God Bless,
David B.

How many traps will y’all put out in a small general area? Also if I catch a Coon so I need to rest trap in same spot or move it

1 coyote this morning

You can keep the trap in same spot after catching a coon.

Without cameras, it's rather difficult to just guess how many traps are needed for an area.
It also depends upon the time you have to set them out and check them everyday.

Any traps out and coons caught are a betterment for the turkeys and their nest.


2 coons caught this morning.

One coon I have been after for 3 years with only one eye.
He was according to ON X Hunt, 1.75 miles (in a straight line) away from his last spot seen on camera last week.






God Bless,
David B.

Keep up the good work. I wanted to get some traps out but the weather forecast has me holding off

Caught one coon yesterday, and 6 more today.
I had 2 doubles today!
Pulled all the traps.
Total of 18 coons 2 sows, and 16 boars.

God Bless,
David B.

Pulled all my traps Sunday
Caught 10 coyotes and 7 coons in 12 days

Caught my 3rd Coon yesterday

Woohoo!

Way to go!


God Bless,
David B.

Good job fellas! I've caught a couple beavers on jobs but haven't had time to run a landline this year.

Why are so many more boars being caught?

The coon rut is starting and the boars are looking for the girls

I need to be whacking some coons right now but this weather is too jacked up.

You aint kiddin it is
It was really bad when I pulled my traps sunday and isn't looking any better in the near future

Why do y’all pull traps when bad weather comes? Just not want to run them in the rain?

Because it's an icky mess with everything.
Wet, muddy animals, muddy truck inside and out.
Getting self wet, cold, and already being run down myself, it's a recipe for getting sick.
It also tears my roads up driving on them when wet and mushy, and I'm the one who has to fix them.
Part of having good roads is staying off of them in bad weather when possible.

God Bless,
David B

Its just near impossible to remake a set after a catch when its muddy and the site is torn up from the critter fighting the trap and it makes for a miserable time running the line when its raining
A day or two of light rain isn't really a problem but when you have several days of torrential downpours.....it causes all kind of problems

Not to mention unnecessary traffic on wet roads.

I gotcha ya! Just was curious thanks fellas

Just ran my traps got 3 coons this morning, 2 sows and one boar

Had 2 beavers this morning. Was gonna get some pics for the thread but it was raining and nasty all morning so the phone stayed in the truck.

Finally got to set a few

I've caught 9 beavers in the past 10 days but who wants to see beaver pics! Lol!

Sorry for not keeping up these days but my schedule is crazy and between working 12 hour shifts pretty much 7 days a week and trying to run a few traps I don't even have time to worry about pics. Most days it's either work off at 6am and run traps then rush home to try and rest before returning to work or work off at 6pm and run traps in the dark then try to get home at a decent hour and rest.

4 coons and opossum this morning

Great job gentlemen!

God Bless,
David B.

2 coons this morning, my first year at trapping and I’m at 14 coons and opussum. My goal is to have 25 coons by turkey opener

One boat coo. And another opossum today! This trapping is addictive also helps I live where I hunt so can run traps every day! Save the poults!!!!

Way to go Dave!

God Bless,
David B.

Thank you sir,this rain is slowing me down a good bit. When I started I set a goal to have 25 coons by turkey opener maybe I can reach that

He was either really hungry or really stupid

Turkey season is ending and its time to get those traps out again guys
I'll be starting Monday ridding our property of the vermin that will destroy the animals we hunt

We started last week. 4 coons 1 possum so far

Traps going out today. Got pics of 3 yotes running a rd right next to the house

Deployed traps when the Corona shut everything down back in March. As of yesterday, count was 83 coons/ possums. 2 live traps and 13 DP’s. Marshmallow on the trigger and dry cat food covering it. Shiny half of Coors light can over the opening for attraction and to keep out the rain. Gosh I hope we have some poults!!!!!

Trapped with 3 DP's in February and killed 10 coons and 1 possum. About to start again.

4 coyotes and 2 coons this morning

1 black coyote and 1 coon this morning

2 hogs 1 coon this morning

Doing some good work Deadeye. What kind of sets are working for you ? Any ant problems?

Doing about half Dirt hole sets and half Step down dirt hole sets and running about a dozen DP’s

Caught one coon this morning

Had something strange the past two days at my DP’s
Found a coon next to a dp with his genitalia removed yesterday and today in another area I had one with his genitalia removed and was gutted

Married coons!

One blue eyed coyote this morning

What are y’all using for coyote bait?

I’m using Cavens Hiawatha and Highway 61

I’m up to 24 coons and 14 possums in the last two weeks. Hopefully I’m helping out some nesting birds and also my son’s future watermelons and sweet corn

Got 1 yote. Running 3 trap by the house. More going out soon!

Deadeye you've been putting a hurting on them!

Was the blue eyed coyote off colored? I've caught 2 and both were definitely off colored.

No
It was the usual gray color
One of these days I’ll learn how to post pics

My middle son(8) and I started running DPs on about 250 acres behind our house in late April. We are sitting at 15 coons and 3 possums so far. Going to stay after them for a few more weeks for sure then declare war again in the fall along with some leg hold sets.

One hog in a dirt hole set and one coon

2 more coons today

One coyote this morning

What are you using for summer bait in your DP?

I'm just using the cheapest dry cat food from Dollar G and/or dry cat food with mashed sardines mixed together. However, I don't know what I'll use if anything different when it gets to be hot summer.

2 more coons today.

3 more coons today

2 coons this morning
Starting to slow down quite a bit so I may pull traps next week
I’ve got a couple more dogs targeted so we’ll see

I use Lip Licker (bait) and Crows Blood (lure) from Down South Trappers year round and also Coyote Claymore 1 (bait from Clint Locklear) and Yodel Dog (lure, from Caven's).

But I'm using leghold traps.

3 more coons today

2 coons 1 hog this morning

1 coyote 1 coon

Well guys I pulled about half my sets this morning and will pull the rest tomorrow
The Talley for 12 days in February and 16 days in May is
18 coyotes 16 coons 4 hogs
It been fun and I’m worn out....until February gents

Caught my first coon over the weekend. Running DPs with a mix of peanuts and cat food. Had him by both hands

Pulled my traps, so I didn't have to run them every morning. I'll give it a few weeks and then make a late summer run before football starts full time. ended with 45 coons, 16 possums, 11 tree rats, 9 chipmucks and 4 rats.

This pup was caught on a new property, 3rd day of trapping. Kitten breath was lured into a pipe dream set, using "Red" fox gland and fox urine. 8/6/20

Caught with fawn breath, this 28 lb male came in to a double dirt hole set with “Red” fox gland and “Anomaly” down the hole wearing a K9 Xtreme and an Expand-a-pan on 7/9/20

15 lb coyote in a dirt hole set, wearing a Duke 550. Euphoriam from Elk River Lures drew him in on 4/14/20

27 lb male coyote stepped into a Duke 550 on a dirt hole set, Elk River Lures’ Euphoriam on the backing on 4/6/20

Song dog caught in a T-bone set with a K.O. K9 Xtreme. Elk River Lures Gold and Anomaly are shining on this stormy day. 3/24/20



Hind foot catch in a K.O. K9 Xtreme on a dirt hole set, Elk River Bait and Lures on 3/16/20



This male was caught with a front foot in a K9 Xtreme and a back foot in an MB-550 on a well-worn dirt hole set. My cousin, Adam Carle is looking down on today’s catch, having passed 3 years ago today in a fatal motorcycle accident. 3/4/20



Groundhog Day girl in a MB-550, Elk River Lures in the dirt hole and on the backing on 2/2/20




This one wound up in the wrong place after a wild night out on New Year’s Eve 1/1/20



The 3-legged yote got this set hot. Too bad it’s a mud hole with all the rain we’ve had. He got to join his hop-a-long buddy for Christmas. Elk River Lures produces, again. 12/23/19



Took this 3-legged yote out of the population with Elk River Lures and a Duke #2 in a dirt hole set on 12/21/19 - My 1st catch as a trapper

Good job Pollwoll.

Thanks for your support! I ran a half dozen sets on a quarter mile hedgerow that's on the western edge of Madison City limits. My new property is another 50 acre parcel across the street from it. I run 13 K.O. K9 Xtreme and a dozen dog proof coon traps. It doesn't take much time to check a small line. I hope more guys stand up like I did when I found out there were coyotes invading garages with toddlers in them in my subdivision.

Awesome pictures - I am just about to start getting into coyote trapping - I hav only trapped coon In past - looking forward to it

Just now, while checking the short lines on 2 x 50 acre parcels, I came across 3 fawns. They were browsing for the coon attractant that I threw around to get some raccoons into my dog proof coon traps. It is catfish pellets sprayed with Coon Collector/Anise.

It's great seeing the results of your work when you get a moment to reflect on what you've done. When you are in nature, you can find coyotes or fawns. If you see coyote, you likely won't see any fawns. And, that is natural selection at work before you. Since I removed nearly a dozen coyote in the past 9 months, these fawns had the chance to enjoy a little coon bait. I went ahead and poured 5 lbs of sweet feed on top of my DP's in case they come back to the same spot. It might make a good Burger King for the coons, if not.

Are ants fond of the catfish bait? Coons are showing up on my place like crazy. take 2 off, four more show up... Now I can't keep the ants out of the traps.
We've caught 27 coons and 5 possums this year since Mid April, can't tell it at the feeders...aggravating.

I had to switch to corn on my dog traps - Aunts were getting everything else

I have heard from some experienced trappers - once you take coons out - often others move in to take that coons place

How big is your track? I only caught 11 coons and 2 possums on 250 acres. Starting to trap coyote this weekend hopefully

Tell Aunt Karen she better stay out of your DP's!

They been letting the corn sour in my traps the last month. But the ants aren't eating it either...

I'm running traps on about 270 acres between me and a neighbor. Sipsey River Bottom in Fayette Co. Goal is about 50 coons and possums before New Years. Doesn't look to be a problem if they'd run their hands in the trap...

Dang - that not bad - way better than me. What is your go to bait? How many traps? I am running 4 dog traps and just purchased 3 coyote traps and have a coupe I can put with those 3

Ants and roaches are eating everything that I put out. It's a cycle, I have to rebait at least every 2 weeks. My coon trapping skills need lotsa work. Rubber bait is the only thing that doesn't succumb to mold or insects. See: DP Trigger Tubes I've only caught a few coons in the past couple of months around 100 acres of corn. I've tried Fruit Loops, Mini Marshmallows, Catfish pellets with Coon Collector, MB Moonshine, Elk River Black Gold and Kat Fat, Fish Oil, Tuna, and DP Trigger Tubes. I use Z-traps DP trap caps to keep the rain and possums out.

The coon have been flushing out of the corn fields when I do my trapline checks. I set where I see them run into the hedgerow, but this only worked for 1 catch. I've seen 4 others that are trap smart or just not hungry. My next method is to use Burger Kings to attract them, then set on the BK/Coon feeder. It's like a gravity deer feeder, it's just a 5 gallon container on the ground with coon sized PVC pipe access to the feed. Until the corn gets harvested, I may have trouble getting their interest. Same goes with my gravity deer feeder setup, until the soybean and corn are brought in those deer have a different menu they prefer.


Caught 6/6/20


Caught 7/6/20

Not Pictured
Caught 8/6/20

Before the ants, i was using dollar general cat food mixed with a can of smashed sardines in water and smoked oysters. All from DG, cost about $5 to make minus the bottle. I'd mix it in a big mouth OJ bottle, shake it up and let it bake in the sun. Not a pleasant aroma after a few days.

The most traps I had out at once was 10, mostly 6. I would make triple sets or doubles, never singles. I'm no trapper, but my 8yo and I had a ball this year. I had 6 regular DPs and borrowed 4 coon daggers from a buddy to try. I like the two way trigger on the coon daggers, but I'm indifferent on if one is better than the other based on my limited experience.

I No trapper either - just trying to get some free loaders off my corn - you did good and thanks for the info!

Pipe dream set with Proline Roadrunner, Elk River Lures' Anomaly, and beaver tail oil (BTO) was the end of the line for this 28 lb female coyote, K.O. K9 Xtreme with Expand-a-pan saved fawns and people’s house pets on 8/27/20

Nice